For the To-do List: Dwell on Design, Aguiniga and Team Knit Move-in Kits, “Loose” Buildings on Tour, CicLAvia on Wilshire, Hawthorne on Huxtable, Extreme Ideas on the Runway, and more

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Extreme ideas, main hangar

It’s all happening this weekend: Dwell on Design, the now annual showcase of Modernistic and “sustainable” design (the crowd at a past DOD shown above), starts today with a keynote by Michael Graves, drinks at the LivingHome exhibit and much, much more.

Parachute Market’s “Psychedelic Summer;” this is the first of a quarterly marketplace downtown produced by Storefront and might represent a visual antidote to DOD since its theme is “postmodern design with roots in psychedelia.” The event is ticketed, with a portion of sales supporting Inner City Arts,  and several designers who have been interviewed for DnA will be among designers represented at the market.

Despite thematic differences, there will likely be some crossover; Tanya Aguiniga, whose rope hanging and knitted stools can be seen in the photo of the Parachute market, left, will be present at both; at Dwell on Design she is the artist-in-residence. There, with the support of other knitters “she will be creating and donating handcrafted blankets as part of “Move-in Kits” with basic furnishings to Los Angeles–area shelters. . . The items in the “Move-in Kits” will include a modular stool and side table, a knit blanket and wall art. The United Way and PATH, People Assisting the Homeless, will be placing 300 homeless individuals in permanent housing in Los Angeles this June—100 of whom are from Skid Row.”

If you have time and knitting skills, head to DOD today, to be a part of her project.

Tanya_Aguiniga_-_Rope_Knot_BraceletThey include Tanya Aguiniga (see her rope bracelet, right) and Brendan Ravenhill, whose interviews by Alissa Walker have already aired, and Scout Regalia and Tracy Wilkinson, who you will hear from on DnA in the not too distant future.

Then Saturday night there’s the members party for MOCA’s A New Sculpturalism; featuring 38 architects and friends as well as two KCRW DJs, Chris Douridas and Anthony Valadez, the Geffen Contemporary will be lively on Saturday night. Hear a lively review of the show on this DnA.

And on Sunday, the MAK Center at the Schindler House is offering a tour of houses by architects whose work represents the architect-artist interactions explored in Sylvia Lavin’s fascinating show, “Everything Loose Will Land,” currently on display.

Also on Sunday, pedal power meets architectural appreciation as cicLAvia rides Wilshire Boulevard, to and from downtown to Fairfax Avenue. This ride comes under the umbrella of Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A., which sponsored a series of stories, aired on previous DnA shows, about the buildings and personal histories of the boulevard, whose development coincides with the  period covered by PSTP.

 And next week there is more.

Christopher Hawthorne will discuss the legacy of preeminent American architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable, who died in January at age 91, and whose archives are now at the Getty.

Then on Thursday, June 27 is Design Shopping Night, part of the LA Design Festival (read more about that here).

On the 28th is UCLA’s Extreme Ideas: Runway a party and fast-paced presentation of ideas by some of the smartest thinkers on design. This takes place at UCLA architecture school’s new outpost in the old Hercules building (see above image) that once housed Hughes Aircraft and the “Spruce Goose” aka Hercules airplane. The event will take place in the presence of some dancing robots with music provided by KCRW’s Liza Richardson. I’ll emcee.

And don’t forget to fit in a visit to LACMA’s The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA, just opened, and check out our potential future museum. And listen to this week’s show, for a very interesting assessment of the design, from Sam Lubell, Craig Hodgetts as well as the architect Peter Zumthor and LACMA Director Michael Govan.

Also, try and fit in a visit to WUHO for its low-profile but, in DnA’s view, high importance, How Small is Too Small, a double-bill exhibit showing a “Micro Unit” and comparative multi-family housing projects in LA, those “By Right” and those “By Design;” both exhibits challenge us to imagine how we are going to live with grace in smaller space. More on that on a forthcoming DnA podcast.

Let me know if I’ve forgotten anything and I’ll add it here.